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From scrambling for safety glasses to gathering in huge crowds across the UK to watch, Brits enthusiastically embraced yesterday's eclipse.
One travel expert who got a stellar view of the once-in-a-generation cosmic event from the skies says he was so impressed by the spectacle at 30,000ft that he'd urge others to do the same when it happens again in Spain next summer.
Nicky Kelvin, The Points Guy's travel and points expert, managed to book a last-minute British Airways flight and described the moment the eclipse happened as 'incredible'.
Nicky told the Daily Mail: 'It was absolutely crazy, so cool. It took an insane amount of planning.
'On Monday, I thought, there's got to be a way to do this. I looked at flights to Palma - and then thought it would be cool to see the eclipse actually from the plane.
'So I decided to research deeper, plotting the map of totality and using Flightradar24 to filter for a viable option. Then I eventually found a flight that we thought would work.'
Nicky checked with BA to see if his Avios points were valid for the flight – the answer was yes. Using 14,000 Avios points, he only had to pay £2.50 for the very special journey.
Nicky Kelvin from The Points Guy took on the challenge of booking a flight to watch the eclipse
He boarded the flight in the hope he'd be able to get a stellar view
He also had to ensure he could book a seat on the right-hand side of the plane, where his research indicated he would best see the eclipse.
He wrote on his Instagram @nickykelvin, alongside a video: 'I became obsessed with the idea of finding a £2.50 Avios flight (14,000 total points) to try and see the total eclipse from the sky.
'We plotted the previous routes and timing of hundreds of flights to find the perfect one, which happened to be @british_airways London Gatwick (LGW) to Malaga (AGP).
'We needed a delay, similar to past days, not too much! Here is what the experience of a lifetime was really like…'
Nicky told the Mail: 'When we were en route, the captain made an announcement that we may see the eclipse, with all the safety warnings, saying please don't look at the sun.
'We started to see huge shadows below. Everybody just freaked out. Most people hadn't even booked this flight on purpose.
'People were clambering to see. At first, around 95 per cent was covered, so you could only see a sliver of sun with the glasses. But it looked quite normal, people couldn't really see much.
Nicky captured footage of the eclipse from onboard his flight to Malaga on Wednesday evening
Seeing the eclipse from on board a flight was exciting enough - but even more so given its extremely low cost, just £2.50
'But the moment when it finally happened, there were loud gasps. There were around 90 seconds of totality. Kids on the plane couldn't believe what they were seeing.
'It was just incredible, with everyone cheering. It was the most insane thing I've ever seen. The atmosphere was jubilant - it was something really special.'
Nicky said he had seen flights advertised for special charter trips specifically to see the eclipse – but he wasn't interested.
'This way it had more of a challenge element to it - it felt more exciting. It took ten hours of meticulous research.'
The next total eclipse is set for August 2, 2027 and will be visible in southern Spain, North Africa (including Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt), Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.
Nicky, who spent ten hours planning for the challenge, was one of the few passengers on board who was actually aware the flight would permit views of the total eclipse
He says the plane was full of cheer, with passengers clambering to get a good view
A partial eclipse will be visible in most of Europe, much of Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, eastern Canada, northern Maine in the US, as well as the Atlantic and Indian oceans, according to Nasa.
Nicky has advice for passengers seeking similar experiences in future – all using Avios points. He suggests earning points through Nectar and credit cards.
Then, by using websites such as seats.aero, you can filter for specific flights valid for your points.
Viewers on his video were impressed by his feat, with one writing: 'Excellent adventure, skills, timing, result. 10/10.'
Another chimed in: 'This is AMAZING footage. Thanks for sharing.'
Avios Official commented on the clip: 'This is why we always book the window seat.'
A fellow traveller said: 'My flight in Majorca was two hours delayed and I am so glad it was because it was epic, the totality was unreal.'